Rotary engine.



J. W. LARIMORE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIUATIOI FILED H0124, 1909.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

a msnm-sum ba.

gnwnlon trated JOHN W. LARIMORE, 0F BENTON, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Deo. 13, 1910.

Application filed November 24, 1909. Serial No. 529,758.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. LARIMORE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Benton, in the county of Franklin and State of Illinois,have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to that type of rotary engine,in which the piston operates in a piston chamber or bore that isdisposed eccentrically to the axis of rotation of said piston.

The primary object is to provide a novel and exceedingly simplestructure made up of few parts that can be readily manufactured andassembled, said parts not being liable to injury or derangement.

A further and important object is to arrange the parts or elements whichare suhjected to pressure and strain so that they are rigidly supportedand braced, and are not liable to become sprung or misshapen.

The preferred form of construction is illusin the accompanying'drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine, with oneof the cylinder heads removed and portions illustrated in section. F 2is a vertical sectional view at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is adetail view of the inner face of one of the piston heads. Fig. 4 is adetail perspective view of the cam rings.

Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all t-hefigures' of the drawings.

In the embodiment disclosed, a cylinder member 5 is employed comprisingan outer wall 6, preferably mounted on a suitable base 7, and havingheads 8 detaehably secured to its opposite sides. Extending entirelythrough the cylinder member and through the heads thereof is an engineshaft 9, the said cylinder' member being provided with apiston-receiving bore 10 that is eccentric to the axis of the shaft 9,and said member furthermore having in its opposite sides, counterbores11 disposed concentrically to said shaft. The lower side walls of thecounterbores are in line or register with the lower side wall of thepiston-receiving bore. One of the heads 8 is provided with a stationarycam 12 that extends through one of the counterbores into thepiston-receiving bore 10 and terminates at the opposite counterbore.

A rotary piston is located in the 4cylinder' member, and consists of acylindrical body 13 arranged in the piston-receiving bore 10, and havingin its opposite sides sockets 14. Heads 15 are secured to the oppositesides of the body, one of these heads having a eentral opening 16through which the cam 12 passes, the other head 15 being suitablysecured to the shaft 9. Said heads are provided on their inner sideswith channels or guidcw'ays 17 that are alined with the sockets 111.Piston blades 18 are slidably mounted in said sockets and project beyondthe body so that their opposite edges operate in the channel 17, asshown in Fig. 2. Cam rings 1 9, located side by side, are arranged uponthe cam 12, and have oifset ears 20, the ear of each ring overlying theopposite ring, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Connected to these ears arestems or links 21, which pass through the body 13 and are fastened tothe piston blades.

Arranged upon the cylinder member is a suitable steam chest 22, fromwhich lead opposite supply ports 23 that conununicate with thepiston-receiving bore 10 on opposite sides of a spring-pressed packingmember 24; located in the upper central portion of the cylinder member.An exhaust port, shown in dotted lines at. 25, leads from the steamchest. A controlling valve 2G is arranged in the steam chest, and has astem 27 projecting therefrom. This valve can be either manually orautonlatcally operated by any of the well known means, and it will be0bvious that with the arrangement, if said valve is moved in onedirection, steam or other motive fluid will be admitted from the steamchest into one side of the cylinder member, while the other port will bein communication with the exhaust 25. By reversing the position of saidvalve, the relation of the ports will be reversed, and by placing thevalve in a central position, as shown in Fig. 1, the supply of motivefiuid can be cut ott from the engine, either permanently for stoppingthe same, or temporarily for permitting said engine to operate under theexpansive force of the motive fluid. In order to prevent leakage,packing rings 28 are preferably arranged in the peripheries of thepiston heads 15, and packing strips 29 are also profe 'ably placed inthe edges of the piston blades.

It will be evident that a simple structure is provided by thisinvention, inasmuch as the same consists of elements that can be cheaplymanufactured, and readily assembled. The engine is reversible, and willif desired operate under the expansive force of steam so that it iseconomical in operation. Furthermore it is to be observed that the partssubjected to strain are supported and braced. For instance, the engineshaft 9 almost through the entire engine is supported by the cam 12 andby having the ends of the piston blades operating in the channels, thereis no danger of said piston blades being sprung to one side. They willthus always move freely into and out of the sockets.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes. in the size, shape, proportion andminor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder member havingheads, of a shaft extending through the cylinder member, a cam carriedby one of the heads and terminating short of the other head, said camsurrounding the shaft, a rotary piston operating in the cylinder memberand surrounding the cam, said piston having a iember lying between theone end of the cam and one cylinder head and being secured to the shaft,and a piston blade movably mounted on the piston and operated by thecam.

2. ln a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder member havingheads and an eccentric piston chamber, of a cam carried by one of theheads and extending into the piston chamber, said cam terminating shortof the other head and being disposed concentrically in the pistonchamber, a shaft extending through the piston chamber and cam anddisposed eccentric to both, a rotary piston located eccentrically in thepiston chamber and surrounding the cam, said piston lying between oneend of the cam and one cylinder head and secured to the shaft, a pistonblade slidably mounted in the piston, and a ring surrounding the cam andconnected to the piston blade.

ln a rotary engine, the combination with a cylinder member, of a shaftextending therethrough, said cylinder member having a piston-receivingbore eccentric to the shaft and having counterbores in its oppositesides that are concentric to the shaft, the counterbores having thewalls at one side in substantial register with the corresponding wallsof the piston-receiving bore, means for introducing motive fluid intothe opposite side of the piston-receiving bore, heads for the cylindermember, a stationary cam carried by one of the heads and extending intothe piston-receiving bore, a cam surrounding the shaft, a rotary pistoncomprising a body located in the piston-receiving bore and havingsockets in its opposite sides, and heads secured to the body andoperating in the counterbores, said heads having channels in their innersides alined with the sockets, piston blades slidably operating in thesockets and channels, overlapping rings rotatably mounted on the cam,and link connections between the rings and the piston blades.

ln testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

J @HN lV. LARIMORE.

Witnesses XV. H. linnn-lars, lV. P. Snnnn.

